Friday, January 22, 2016

Firefighter and RSPCA officer rescued sheep that had fallen into a hole

The RSPCA and Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service teamed up to save a sheep which fell down a hole in Akeley on Sunday.
A man out sledging with his children spotted the ewe stuck down a deep hole. He tried to pull the shivering sheep out of the hole but couldn’t so called the RSPCA for help.

RSPCA animal collection officer Kate Wright rushed to the scene and called for help from Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service. Station Commander Nick Honor, who is based at HQ in Aylesbury, attended.
Kate said: “Between the two of us we managed to pull her out.

“The ewe had grazed her back legs and was very cold and weak but we stayed with her for about an hour after getting her out and she eventually managed to walk over to the rest of the flock.
I was able to track down an owner who attended straight away and was going to keep a close eye on her. I was very thankful to Nick, there was no way I could have got her out on my own.”
The ewe is thought to have fallen down the hole overnight but despite slight grazing and being cold and muddy she was not seriously injured.

Nick said: “People traditionally think that fire and rescue services only become involved in animal rescues when cats are stuck up trees. The reality, however, is very different.
Fire and rescue services have a range of specialist skills and equipment to undertake animal rescues and will assist where there is a need.
In this instance, working together with the RSPCA, we were quickly and successfully able to minimise any further distress and move the sheep to a place of safety.”